Actual detection and forensic science play only a small part in the narrative which is more about the life and loves of Enzo: a surprising number of the females had had a relationship with him. There’s too much unnecessary description of what even minor characters look like and what they are wearing; and every female character gets an attractiveness assessment. Enzo a professor of forensics in France has a well-earned reputation for solving the unsolvable cases, but finds a flaw in the original investigation. Little does he realise that he is about to open a Pandora’s box of hell on his family, and that endangers the lives of his daughters. It is his knowledge and belief that the Bordeaux Six and the murder of three prostitutes have been ascribed to the convicted killer Regis Blanc. Cast Iron is the sixth, and final, book in Peter May’s Enzo Files series, and to understand everything in this one you need to have read the prior books. Although it can be read without the prior books, a lot of the things will fail to have the intended impact without the prior knowledge. The unidentified cadaver in turn provides a welcome distraction for forensic pathologist Margaret Campbell. Campbell, married to her work and having left America and her broken past behind, throws herself into the investigation, and before long uncovers a bizarre anomaly.

International Celtic Film and Television Festival (1996) Machair nominated for Best Drama Serial Award [8]Starred Review. May expertly plants nicely misleading red herrings; every time the reader thinks the plot will fall into predictability, the ground shifts and the direction changes. The end comes as a satisfying surprise, built as it is on clues that were subtly in place all along." - Publishers Weekly

I like the progress of the story, how Enzo starts off with Lucie Martin's murder, but soon realize that the case is bigger than just the one killing and the man suspected of killing Lucie, a serial killer who killed three prostitutes may or may not be Lucie's killer. The ending was really thrilling and intense. And I loved that there was a twist in the end that I did not foresee. I did think that the ending felt a bit too easy that there must be a game change and I was right, I just didn't see the one coming. That being so his Enzo MacLeod crime thrillers are all based in France where May and his wife have largely based themselves for the last few years. Cast Iron is the seventh book in the Enzo series, following on from Coffin Road. When I first pitched the idea to my then UK publisher, the editor dismissed it out of hand. Enzo, she said, was far too old to be the leading character of a series. I took umbrage. It was almost like saying that I was too old to be a writer. That might have been the end of Enzo right there and then, but ironically it made me all the more determined to write him, and I am happy to say that time, and sales, have proved me right. Enzo is probably one of the most popular characters I have ever written.The plot is fast paced and full of twists and turns, as Enzo finds many of those around him are keeping secrets and someone seems to want him dead or at least to stop his investigation. As Enzo uses good old fashioned police work to investigate his case, the plot becomes more complex as further crimes come to light and nothing seems to fit. This will hook you in and keep you second guessing until all finally becomes clear and the pieces fall into place. An enjoyable thriller, probably most satisfying if you have read the rest of the series but it also works well as a stand alone novel. Detective Li Yan - an even more unwelcome memory for Campbell - has arrived stateside to investigate a link in the case to a lucrative trade in illegal labourers.

San Diego reader Article about Peter May's 'The Critic' ". Sandiegoreader.com . Retrieved 27 May 2008.The best recent thrillers – review roundup". The Guardian. 14 April 2020 . Retrieved 3 November 2021. The Critic (published in United States as A Vintage Corpse by Poisoned Pen Press, 2007), (Quercus, 2013) CAST IRON is the sixth and final instalment in Peter May’s Enzo Macleod series (sometimes called the Enzo Files). The series has been fairly successful, with the previous instalment, COFFIN ROAD, being quite loved by readers. This novel is a suitable and satisfying cap to what has been a very interesting series. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free electronic copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Take The High Road ( Scottish Television 1980 – 1992) writer (200+ episodes), story & script editor (700+ episodes). A weeping killer deposits the unconscious body of 20-year-old Lucie Martin, her head wrapped in a blue plastic bag, into the waters of a picturesque lake. An unlikely partnership develops between Li and Campbell as they follow the resulting lead. A fiery and volatile chemistry ignites: exposing not only their individual demons, but an even greater evil - a conspiracy that threatens their lives, as well as those of millions of others. Grand Prix des Lecteurs du Télégramme [43] (2012) L'Homme de Lewis (The Lewis Man) winner of the Prix des Lecteurs du Télégramme, 10,000 Euro Readers' Prize of French daily newspaper. [44] Enzo MacLeod, who is involved in a string of cold case investigations, arrives to look into this murder. It was never solved, but the killing appeared to be the same modus operandi as three others committed by a pimp and drug dealer, Régis Blanc, who was imprisoned for those murders. He seemed to be the killer, although he denied any involvement, and the case was assumed to be complete even though no evidence could be found to incriminate Blanc directly - he had an alibi.

Summary

Peter May was born in Glasgow. From an early age he was intent on becoming a novelist, but took up a career as a journalist as a way to start earning a living by writing. He made his first serious attempt at writing a novel at the age of 19, which he sent to Collins where it was read by Philip Ziegler, who wrote him a very encouraging rejection letter. [6] At the age of 21, he won the Fraser Award and was named Scotland's Young Journalist of the Year. He went on to write for The Scotsmanand the Glasgow Evening Times. [7] At the age of 26, May's first novel, The Reporter, was published. May was asked to adapt the book as a television series for the British television network the BBC, and left journalism in 1978 to begin to write full-time for television. [7] Television career [ edit ] Detective Li Yan is determined to discover just how one of the victims in particular, an American diplomat, became caught up in the slaying. And he is arguably even more determined to have nothing to do with Campbell. It’s a complicated and long-winded story that finally reveals who killed the final victim and why. I don’t think the narrative built up the evidence satisfactorily and the denouement is perfunctory. I might have enjoyed the journey to get there more if I had read the previous five books. I don't think I’ll bother as some of the conclusions of earlier stories are referred to in this final book. Sophie and her fiancé Bertrand discover first-hand just how dangerous being beloved of Enzo can be when his investigations displease certain people. Bertrand certainly gets a chance to prove his love, and Sophie shows herself to be resourceful and undefeated by challenging circumstances.